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Mark Bryant, Coordinator of New Media for the Big South Conference and writer of Big South SHOUT, is an RTC correspondent.

A Look Back

Sneak Preview: Early December brought a glimpse of conference play, as all teams got in some Big South action, with most playing two games inside the league. Liberty, High Point, and Coastal Carolina can all enjoy undefeated conference records until the full league schedule begins, while Charleston Southern, VMI, and Radford still seek their first Big South wins (and Gardner-Webb, Winthrop, UNC Asheville, and Presbyterian College all sit in the middle at 1-1).

Small Teams, Big Numbers: The trend of beating up on smaller schools continued recently, with Charleston Southern crushing Toccoa Falls 120-43 and VMI sprinting past Central Penn College by a remarkable score of 151-92…that’ll certainly help the famous VMI scoring average.

Conference Calls: While the Big South has mounted appropriate marks of 3-3 against SoCon foes and 2-2 vs. A-Sun opponents so far this season, other records may not reflect as well on the league, most notably an 0-6 total against the Colonial–and throw in a combined 0-4 vs. teams from the MEAC, MVC, and Patriot.

Power Rankings

Coastal Carolina (7-2 / 1-0)… the Chanticleers have rattled off five in a row, they are undefeated at small but spirited Kimble Arena (5-0), and won their first Big South game on a Chad Gray dunk with 1.6 seconds to go against Charleston Southern. Things have been working out early for the defending regular season champions, and they get the nod at the top of the list.

Liberty (6-4 / 2-0)… this time, let’s give Liberty the benefit of the doubt we afforded VMI last time (more on them in a moment). The Flames handled Presbyterian and held off Winthrop to net two conference wins, running their overall win streak to four. Liberty seems to be making the necessary improvements to contend, save one: LU needs to demonstrate it can get a road win. The Flames are 6-0 on home or neutral floors, 0-4 on the road, not a recipe for success in crunch time.

High Point (5-3 / 2-0)… earlier, we wondered when we would see the expected performances of Preseason Player of the Year Nick Barbour and his supporting cast with HPU–apparently that was coming in Big South play. The Panthers got off to a 2-0 start by pulling out two close home victories, by two over GWU and three over Asheville. HPU also got some high praise and national recognition for Shay Shines’ dunk against Asheville that made the top spot on SportsCenter’s Top Plays last weekend:

Winthrop (4-4 / 1-1)… we will keep saying it because it’s true: beware the lurking Eagles. Coach Randy Peele believes in building for the tournament and knows that winning a few games at the right time can mean everything–but that doesn’t mean Winthrop sits back in the regular season. Winning in overtime at VMI in a high-scoring game was a test the Eagles passed with flying colors, only to falter at Liberty two days later. To move up the list, we’ll need to see more of the former and less of the latter. Robbie Dreher and Andre Jones have become a formidable tandem for the Eagles: they combined for 93 points in the two conference games.

VMI (6-4 / 0-2)… the Keydets keep piling up points, but spoiled their hot 5-0 start by losing three of the last four games. Stan Okoye is the league’s only player averaging over 20 points per game for the season, with teammate Keith Gabriel not far behind with more than 18 PPG. Not to be overlooked, freshman Rodney Glasgow has been a strong contributor this year and throws in better than 13 PPG as well. Nonetheless, you have to say VMI’s conference start was a disappointment. Losing in overtime against Winthrop should not be held against them, but it seems as if they should have been able to give PC more of a fight.

Gardner-Webb (6-6 / 1-1)… would you believe the Runnin’ Bulldogs are already approaching last year’s win total? It’s true, thanks to coach Chris Holtmann waking up the potential at GWU and getting off to a good start. The Bulldogs won a road game they needed to get at Radford and fell at HPU by just a basket, so it seems as if GWU may have some bark and some bite this season.

UNC Asheville (3-5 / 1-1)… it remains hard to peg this Asheville squad, although it seems fairly certain the injury to John Williams has hurt the squad’s overall performance. The Bulldogs hit the road and crushed Radford by 20, but followed that up with a three-point loss at High Point. They have a losing record overall, but with a win at a Big Six team in hand (even if it’s Auburn), so which team is this? Answers will likely come when full conference play rolls in soon.

Presbyterian College (3-5 / 1-1)… another team playing to mixed reviews on the early conference swing, falling to Liberty by nine but downing VMI by double-digits (and setting a PC record against Division-I opposition with 92 points in that game). Khalid Mutakabbir has found his shooting stroke, leading the Big South in 3-point field goal percentage (.680, 17-25).

Charleston Southern (4-5 / 0-1)… the Buccaneers have also had their ups and downs in the early going. CSU thought it might be able to sneak out of Conway with a win over Coastal, but fell by just two points. That’s a fair start, but still a loss–and that game will sit as the only Big South contest for a few weeks.

Radford (2-6 / 0-2)… it can’t be encouraging that in seven games, the Highlanders have only broken 60 once (83 vs. Methodist). Opening Big South play with a 20-point home loss sure doesn’t help the outlook for Brad Greenberg’s squad, now with six losses in a row.

A Look Ahead

Until all league teams get into the regular conference schedule beginning December 31, it remains a motley collection of home contests against smaller schools, road games versus major conference opponents, and a smattering of match-ups against comparable programs. Right now, the most encouraging thing is knowing that these teams will be going head-to-head soon and can truly sort out their identities from this rollercoaster mix of high-scoring wins and crushing defeats.

If you’re looking to catch the Big South in action against the nation’s top teams, you’ll have a few chances with Presbyterian matching up against Missouri (12/11), Gardner-Webb at Louisville (12/18), UNC-Asheville visiting Ohio State (12/21) and Winthrop against Kentucky (12/22).

Mark Bryant, Coordinator of New Media for the Big South Conference and writer of Big South SHOUT, is an RTC correspondent. [ed. note: this post was written prior to the Nov. 26-28 games]

A Look Back

V = 5: For the first time in modern era play, VMI has opened its season 5-0. While none of these victories have been great shockers or eye-openers, it remains an attention-grabbing start—the best opening run in the Big South this year. That jumpstart will be tested with a road trip to West Virginia.

Hello, There!: The Big South has had a few surprises in store early this season: UNC Asheville won at Auburn in overtime (70-69), Winthrop defeated WakeForest in Winston-Salem as part of the NIT Tip-Off (83-74), Presbyterian College downed Princeton (69-67), and two members have taken down Charlotte — Gardner-Webb in the opener (78-70) and Coastal Carolina in double overtime (79-75). Radford hopes that trend continues—the Highlanders have Charlotte next.

Feasting on Home Cooking: Admittedly, the schedule-making is a little tilted at the start of the season, generally with tougher opponents on the road or at neutral sites in tournaments, as opposed to mostly (but not completely) softer opposition at home. That said, how about this: the Big South is undefeated at home so far this season (19-0) …nice start.

Power Rankings

Coastal Carolina (5-2 / 0-0)… Okay, so the Chanticleers opened with two giant wins over small colleges, which doesn’t tell us a whole lot, but let’s get a look at the second week. CCU had a four-game week at the Charleston Classic, dropping games to the host, College of Charleston, and to Big East power Georgetown, before bouncing back with two victories—including a 2OT thriller over Charlotte in what was the team’s fourth game in six days. The early lessons of resilience should serve the Chants well as the year progresses. And while plenty of eyes are on Chad Gray and Kierre Greenwood, junior guard Desmond Holloway asserted himself this week by averaging 20 points per game in that tough four-game stretch.

VMI (5-0 / 0-0)… I was not going to elevate the Keydets to this spot without a little more weight behind those victories, but upon further reflection, VMI is out to the best start of anybody in the conference—AND they’ve got that running, gunning offense rolling right out of the gate. So for the moment, let’s not take anything away from the fact that VMI has done what it wants so far. Once again VMI will bid for the nation’s best scoring average–the Keydets are averaging over 90 points per game so far, and they have led all teams in scoring for each of the last four years. Through five games, VMI’s Stan Okoye and Keith Gabriel each average better than 20 points per game to help power that engine.

UNC Asheville (2-2 / 0-0)… Coach Eddie Biedenbach may have the right combination working for him right now, as the Bulldogs have demonstrated their talents early on this season: D.J. Cunningham is among league leaders in rebounds and blocks, J.P. Primm is the Big South steals leader, and Matt Dickey is near the top in scoring. Only VMI is scoring more per game this year, and Asheville’s come-from-behind effort to force and win overtime at Auburn shows the grit that goes with the skill. Watch this team carefully.

Winthrop (2-3 / 0-0)… Call this pick the benefit of the doubt, but coach Randy Peele’s Eagles know how to “grind it out” (Peele’s favorite phrase), and they already boast a win over an ACC team on its own floor this season. While Wake Forest may not be as well-armed this season, that’s still nothing to sneeze at, and Winthrop will do what it always does: frustrate opponents and make every game a fight to the finish.

High Point (2-2 / 0-0)… The Panthers have had an unremarkable beginning to the year, but they also get some credit for having Preseason Player of the Year Nick Barbour, who can be a difference-maker on any night. HPU opened with two home wins against lesser teams and two road losses to more credible opponents. The good news for upcoming games: two home conference contests. The bad news: NO home games from December 5 – January 12.

Gardner-Webb (3-2 / 0-0)… The Runnin’ Bulldogs have come out on the positive side so far under first-year coach Chris Holtmann. Like High Point, they have two home victories against small schools and two road losses—in this case, both at major programs (FloridaState and Michigan). The tipping point for GWU this year is winning a game they would likely have lost a year ago: the opener at Charlotte.

Presbyterian College(2-4 / 0-0)… So will the real PC please stand up? Is this the team that got blown out at Vanderbilt(88-47) or the one that hung with Kansas Statebefore getting caught at the end (76-67)? The one that beat Eastern Kentucky and Princeton in close games, or the one that got handled by Bucknell and James Madison? That’s the problem here—the bottom few teams in the Big South all have questions. Unfortunately for the Blue Hose, even if they’re the Jekyll and not the Hyde here, they still won’t be able to play any postseason games as they continue their transition to Division I play.

Liberty (2-4 / 0-0)… The Flames have the same familiar pattern: home wins they should have, and road losses that were probably expected. Liberty has shown the ability to bounce back from aggressive scheduling losses before, so let’s not drop them to the bottom just for falling to the likes of Notre Dame, Texas Tech, and South Florida.

Radford (2-2 / 0-0)… Same early issues for the Highlanders as most of their peers: expected home wins and road losses, and that’s how this season has begun. This team will not get its due until it makes it clear that they’ve found a way to plug that (literally) big hole left behind by the departure of center Art Parakhouski. The lack of RU presence near the tops of most league leader boards right now shows that they may still be looking.

Charleston Southern (2-3 / 0-0)… It seems painful to drop the Buccaneers to the bottom, but someone has to hold this spot. CSU has a lot of talented players and a good mix of experience (Jamarco Warren) and youth (Jeremy Sexton, Sheldon Strickland)—plus they certainly can beat anybody if the threes are falling, because this team can bomb with the best of them. All that said, the Bucs have not been able to wow anyone in the early going—consider this rank a challenge for the team to pick itself up for a run up the list.

A Look Ahead

While there are a number of games across the conference for the Thanksgiving weekend, the real deal for the upcoming weeks is the first glimpse of conference play. The way the season is structured, the Big South has two early December games as part of the schedule for most teams. Given the tilt toward home teams so far, here’s where the squads will be for those two games on the December 2nd and 4th.

HOME: High Point, Liberty, Radford, VMI, Coastal Carolina (12/4 only)

ROAD: Gardner-Webb, PC, Asheville, Winthrop, CSU (12/4 only)

All those games will help shape early perception of the Big South race, but one game that has me intrigued is the contrasting style in the Winthrop at VMI clash: will VMI be able to push its desired pace and continue its early season roll or will Winthrop be able to get in the way, slow things down and “grind out” another win? That’s among the early answers the December conference games will offer—should be a fun sequence of games.